Not So Subtle
by StargazerLily1996
Summary: Lydia was already confused, and now pissed off. Not to mention intoxicated. It was easier to let the feelings flow when your rational thinking had been compromised. To hell with his warning, she wanted to go down this road if it meant finding out what exactly was going on between them.


**A/N:**** Hey guys! This is my first ever fanfic on this pairing – and I'm in no way a professional so please be nice. BJ here is going to be a messy mix of the Movie, Cartoon Series, and the Musical because I'm still trying to find a way to blend every great aspect of him from all three medias. It's a little hard but fun non-the-less. He's going to be having blonde-green hair in this, and hazel eyes. Maybe in the future I can explore his character more and write a better version of him – until then though, please enjoy this one-shot!**

_**I'd also like to add in that I have an account on AO3 (Archive Of Our Own) in the same name but with underscores between the 'Stargazer', 'Lily', and '1996'. Feel free to check me out there too!**_

**Now without further ado – on with the story!**

* * *

If you asked around Peaceful Pines about a certain person called Lydia Deetz, you will be given all types of strange yet charming answers. That is because the lady in question was just that.

Ever since she was young, she was always the most peculiar in the group. Given she was goth and her affinity to all things dark and mysterious brought her to places not many would venture, her fashion choices made her stick out like a sore thumb. She didn't mind it. She liked being different. Especially in a small town where everyone knew each other.

Most of the time you'd find her strolling along the cemetery with a camera in hand and a smile plastered on her dark stained lips. She would whisper something to someone just off her shoulder and giggle like they shared an inside joke. People used to think she was just one of those children who had imaginary friends.

As she grew older though her personality never seemed to change. She still took walks in areas people her age would not go, and she still wore black like it was Halloween all year round. Her mumbling to herself stopped however, but the twinkle in her eye was proof she knew something a little more than she let on.

One time a neighbor had a cat who climbed up a massive tall tree and couldn't come down. The owner was in great distress as the cats meows grew louder and weary. Lydia had been walking by and asked in good nature if there was anything she could do to help. The owners simply requested she keep an eye as they called for a professional — but as soon as they placed the phone down, Lydia had been standing in the doorway with the little cat in her arms.

_"But,"_ they started. _"How?"_

They had looked between Lydia's petite frame and the enormous tree. There was no way she could've climbed it without hurting herself. But there she was, not a scratch or a stray leaf to be found on her person.

Lydia had waved goodbye and continued on right after. She had whispered again across her shoulder and laughed.

But this was all years ago. Although she still stayed the same kind hearted person, she wasn't a child anymore.

Lydia Deetz huffed slightly as she took in her reflection in the mirror. It was her 27th birthday and her colleagues at work had planned an "intimate-get-together" in her honor of aging up a year. She had rolled her eyes at that .

She had a job as a photographer for a local news paper. It paid well enough for her to be able to move out of her parents house and into her small cozy one bedroom apartment.

"I guess this will have to do." She stated, as she continued to adjust her dress. The girl had sported on a black dress that stopped inches above her knees.

"What's shaken' babes?" A voice came from her vanity mirror.

She whipped her head around at the comforting familiarity.

A soft smile crept its way onto her lips.

"Hey there Beej." She greeted. "What do you think?"

The lady twirled around for a full 360 assessment. The strapless black dress clashed so well with her pale milky skin, and the small onyx stones embedded in the fabric gleamed under the dimmed light of her bedroom. It was short enough to start the engine of imagination — but modest enough to keep her father from crying.

It hugged her body in just the right places, accentuating her bust and behind quite well.

Beetlejuice was silent.

She finally locked eyes with him after she noticed how quiet it was.

"Well?"

He stared at her up and down before knocking himself out of it.

"Wha? I mean — um." He coughed and pulled on his collar.

Lydia hid a smirk.

He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his blonde-green hair. "It uh, it looks good on ya _kid_." He said after some effort to gather his bearings.

Lydia's smile instantly fell at the use of the word 'kid'.

"I'm not a kid anymore Beej." Her tone was firm and clipped. "We've had this conversation before." She muttered under her breath.

"Right. Right." He waved his hands in front of him in surrender. "You best be goin' babes. When you come home though can we have a minute? I may have gotten ya a lil' somethin'.."

Lydia slipped a faux leather jacket on and stole a glance at him through her long thick lashes. Her features visibly softened.

"Thanks Beej." She smiled earnestly at the gesture. "I'll be back around 11."

Lydia opened her arms for a hug. He obliged, slipping as far as he could from the mirror.

The ghost involuntarily took a whiff of her lavender shampoo. His eyes closed and for a moment he lost himself in her raven locks. The hug was done all too soon for his taste, and she was gone.

Beetlejuice sighed to himself.

"Come on BJ." He scolded, "Get yer mind out of the fuckin' gutter."

His brain suddenly popped out of his head and was slick wet with green drippings.

"You really need to stop that." His brain croaked at him, to which he glared daggers in response.

"Err, do you need assistance _mon ami_?" Jacques the skeleton asked in his deep French accent.

"Hey I've got the popcorn -" Ginger came in with a bowl of crispy white popcorn in her arms when she saw the exchange. She lifted a brow and frowned. "Again?"

Jacques nodded.

Beetlejuice pushed his brain back in and closed his head. "What are ya both talkin' about?"

"Your not so subtle growing feelings for _notre cher ami_ _(our dear friend)_, Lydia." The skeleton said in a very isn't-that-obvious voice.

The ghost's eyes shot out at that. "What the — waddaya mean growin' feelin's? No one's got any 'growin' feelin's' fer anybody. Let's just go watch the movie."

Ginger let him pass by the door. "But it's kinda written all over your face."

Beetlejuice scowled. "No it's not."

"Umm, with all due respect, it is." Jacques affirmed, taking a popcorn and throwing it into his mouth.

"Who's side are ya on?" Beetlejuice swiveled his heels and shot a look of betrayal at his friend.

The skeleton only shrugged his boney shoulders.

"It is what it is Beetlejuice." Ginger said softly. "You've taken quite a liking to her for a while now."

The ghost crossed his arms against his chest in denial. "I have no idea what yer talkin' about."

Ginger rolled her eyes. "Oh just man up already."

"I mean, you're both of age _oui_?" The skeleton scratched his skull in confusion. "And you like her so..."

"You could tell her!" The little spider squealed.

"Absolutely not!" The ghost looked horrified and turned even whiter than he already was. "Not in under any circumstances should Lydia ever find out 'bout this!"

"But why not?" His friends whined.

"Why not?" He laughed bitterly at the sentiment. "The better question is why should I?"

He gestured toward himself in mocking shame. "I'm a dead man who's way over his 30's. And as much as I would like — I cannot see a future with her."

"Why?" They asked again in mild surprise.

"Aren't you the type of man who goes for what he wants?" Ginger narrowed her eyes.

"Anythin'!" He said in exasperation. "Anythin'! — But Lydia.."

Jacques and Ginger exchanged glances.

The skeleton walked towards the ghost and placed a boney hand on his shoulder.

"You think you're not good enough?" He asked the man.

Beetlejuice snorted. "Oh I'm good. Good 'nuf to get any woman. But Lydia needs to have someone more than good."

Ginger's eyes lit with realization. "Oh I see." She nodded ruefully. "You think she won't like you."

"What in —" but he couldn't finish.

"Oh!" The skeletons grip on his shoulder tightened. "_Mon ami_ is that what you think?"

"Lydia would like you either way Beetlejuice." The spider commented. "I mean she's been your friend since forever."

Beetlejuice pulled his hair in frustration. "That's the damn point you guys. She's my friend!"

He sighed and irritably scratched the back of his neck. "And that's all she'll ever see me as — a friend because that is what I am.

How the hell am I supposed to think any differently when she's still the same ol' Lydia? I'm not that's what! I'm not supposed to think of her this way. I'm not supposed to think of her hair smelling like lavenders. Or that she looked real good this evenin' in her dress."

He ranted — more to himself than to the ones actually listening.

"I'm not supposed to have all these — gross feelings. She's my friend. And she sees me as that.

And that is what I will be."

Ginger and Jacques stared at him silently once again. A lightbulb suddenly went off their heads at the same time.

"Oh." Ginger gasped softly.

"He…?" The skeleton pointed at the ghost in question as if not sure to say his next words or not.

"He doesn't know." The spiders' eyes grew wide.

Beetlejuice just looked at them like they grew a second head.

"Know what?" He asked cautiously.

Jacques looked like he was about to open his mouth to speak but the spider beat him to it. She jumped right in front of his skull and slapped his jaw shut.

"Nothing." She sang. "Nothing at all. Now Jacques," She turned to the skeleton in question. "Let's just go watch that movie. I'm sure Beetlejuice here is busy."

Jacques seemed to have understood since he nodded his head and made his way to the living room.

Beetlejuice couldn't have been more confused in his entire after life. He watched his friends walk down the hall with his eye brow arched and his frown deepening with every second that went by.

_What the hell was that all 'bout?..._ he thought to himself as he decided to just wait in his room for Lydia to come back.

Or maybe he should go watch that movie? Yeah, why not.

* * *

**1:15AM**

Lydia was _late_.

"Where the fuck is she?" The ghost muttered to himself.

"Maybe she lost track of time?" Ginger quipped.

"Ah yes, the joys of being young. Work all day, party all night." Jacques chuckled.

Apparently the movie Ginger had put on was just the beginning of a very long marathon. Each movie was at least 3 hours long. It was fun for the first couple of hours but now all the ghost wanted was to see his Babes.

"She said she'd be back by 11." Beetlejuice grumbled.

"You're acting as if she's yours." Ginger said between munching her popcorn.

Beetlejuice's hair turned a slight shade of pink at the tips. "What the hell — no. She's no one's 'cept herself."

"Right." The skeleton agreed. "So it's alright if she's a little late, no?"

"Yeah but — " Beetlejuice was interrupted by the sound of keys being inserted into the lock.

The ghost immediately ran towards the mirror.

A figure stumbled into the house ungracefully. After a sure click of the lock at the front door, it made its way down the hallway and into the bedroom.

Beetlejuice looked around the room through the mirror.

The girl in question early tripped as soon as she opened the bedroom door and let out a curse.

"Babes!" He greeted enthusiastically.

Lydia turned around and gave a weak smile. "Hey Beej... sorry I'm late." She responded as she slowly made her way to the vanity mirror.

"Damn, ya look wasted babes." He chuckled at her disheveled hair.

She smirked. "May have gotten caught up in the moment."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, "So how much did ya drink?"

The goth pretended to ponder about it before giggling to herself. "4? 5? 6? I lost count." She slurred.

Beetlejuice took a moment to study her. She was clearly drunk but she seemed to be pretty coherent. At least she didn't go straight to the bathroom and puked her guts out.

Though he hair was a mess, he couldn't say the same for everything else. Her cheeks were dusted a pretty shade of red that looked absolutely delicious — just like his favorite red beetles. The dark stained lipstick was impressively still in tact considering what she had been doing, and her eyes were softly glazed with the aftermath of induced alcohol and something else. He couldn't quite put it — but the face she was making now was tethering close to... adoration?

His breath hitched (as if he needed to breathe, he didn't but it was a reflex the dead had to deal with from their previous life). There was no way she felt that way about him. Absolutely not. This was Lyds we're talking about. Lydia Deetz. His bestest friend in the entire living and after-living world! The goth child he grew so attached to.

_His_ Lydia.

Wait. _What — ?_

"Earth to Beej." Lydia snapped a finger in front of his face.

The ghost blinked and shook his head, only realizing then that he had been staring.

"Sorry babes." He said sheepishly. "Just glad you're okay."

She smiled at him and sighed.

"Besides the drinking, what else happened?" He asked curiously. "I gotta say I never pegged ol' Pru and Berth as party-goers."

"Well, it wasn't just them there surprisingly enough." Lydia said. "It was nearly half the office! We danced of course. Though I didn't really like the way Josh was —" she trailed off mumbling to herself.

"Wha-? Josh?" The ghost shook his head and raised a brow and nearly snarled. "Who is _Josh_?"

"Oh." The woman sobered up a little at the sudden reaction of her ghostly best friend. An idea lit up in her head and she smirked deviously. "Josh, the new guy who started a couple of weeks back. I told you about him remember?"

Beetlejuice's frown deepened. "Right…" he said, not really believing.

Lydia stood up and sashayed to her wardrobe with a little more sway in her hips than necessary. She hummed a tune and slipped off the faux jacket and heels.

"Continue." The voice from her mirror sounded nonchalant but she knew he was just starting to boil.

_This is absolutely wicked…_ She thought to herself. _But I really want to know what he thinks… of me._

"We had a couple of drinks." The goth beauty obeyed while unzipping her dress. She heard a low gulp much to her satisfaction. "He wanted to dance so we did."

The ghost growled slightly at the thought of an unknown man putting his hands on Lydia's hips. It was a bar that they went to, and bars usually had a dance floor that was much too small and cramped. Anyone dancing there would definitely be exchanging sweat with the rest of the dancers. He watched as the little black dress of hers pooled at her feet. She stepped out of them and folded the dress neatly on her hamper.

"He was a little more intoxicated than I was," She continued the assault. It wasn't really a lie. "And his hands may have roamed around a few places that I wasn't too comfortable with…"

Lydia recalled his hands dipped to her hips and she instantly pushed him away. Beetlejuice didn't need to know that right now. She stole a glance at the ghost in question and saw him practically seething.

"Why that fuckin' asshole." He growled. "Let me at him Lyds, I'll make sure he never touches ya again!"

Her eyes grew wide. "No, it's okay. He stopped when I told him to." She knew very well what her best friend from the Neitherworld was capable of. "Besides, I could handle myself BJ."

The ghost scoffed at that.

"What? You don't think I can?" She asked facing him directly.

The ghost then turned his attention to her once more. More specifically that she was only dressed in her lacy black underwear and fishnet stockings.

"Put on some damn clothes will ya kid?" He grumbled at her.

Lydia's features darkened. "I am not a kid."

"I'm 600 years older than ya," Beetlejuice pointed. "And that makes ya a kid to me."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. One moment the look of complete jealousy and need was plastered on his face and the next he was calling her a kid.

"Do I look like a kid to you?" Her voice rose a little higher as she stomped back to the mirror.

"I never said ya looked like a kid." Beetlejuice defended. "I said I was older than ya!"

It was Lydia's turn to scoff. "Oh yeah Beej? And how old exactly should I be before you can finally realise that I grew up a long time ago?!"

"I'm _dead_, not fuckin' _blind_ babes." His tone lowered dangerously, as if telling her not to go down that road. "Now put some goddamn clothes on before I –" he stopped himself from finishing the sentence.

Lydia was already confused, and now pissed off. Not to mention _intoxicated_. It was easier to let the feelings flow when your rational thinking had been compromised. To hell with his warning, she _wanted_ to go down this road if it meant finding out what exactly was going on between them.

"You'll what?" She challenged. "What will you do to me Beej?"

The ghost only glowered at her making her more angry.

"You're so fucking confusing!" She yelled. "You know that? You're pulling me in all different directions with your fucking mood swings!"

"Mood swings?!" He yelled back.

She sent him a heated looked and slammed her palms onto her dressing table. "Yes mood swings!"

The ghost was stunned with her accusation.

Lydia took this to her advantage. Hitting him with everything she got to get to the bottom of this stupid mystery.

"I've seen how you look at me when you think I don't pay attention B." She narrowed her eyes at him accusingly. "I've seen where your eyes linger a little too long."

Beetlejuice swallowed hard but he kept his gaze stoic and glared at the woman.

"And I do it too! Fuck Beej I beg to differ on your statement earlier. I think you're so fucking blind because I have been throwing myself at you for the last couple of years but you keep leading us nowhere! One minute you're into me and the next you're not! Make up your damn mind Beetlejuice."

She huffed slightly trying to catch her breath.

"Fucking grow a pair and just tell me what you feel about me already so we can stop playing this damn game." Her tone dropped, catching him off guard.

She looked at him with unshed tears glazing her eyes. "Beej, when I was out tonight all I could think about was you. When Josh and I were dancing all I could think about was dancing with you. When he touched me –" the ghost instantly stiffened but she continued, "All I could think of was what it would feel like if you were the one touching me!"

Her cheeks reddened even more with embarrassment of what she was saying.

"I like you." She whispered. Her wide dark chocolate eyes met his pale hazel ones. "I think I'm in… In love with you…"

Beetlejuice could only stare at her incredulously.

Lydia let a stray tear fall at the gravity of the situation. She really had done it this time. If this goes badly they might never be friends again. The thought pierced her heart and made her chest ache.

She sobbed into her hand and shut her eyes tight. "Please say something…" She begged, praying it would be quick.

His walls started to crack and come crashing down. _**Fuck**_ – how did he not notice?

"Say the B-words Lyds."

She wiped the tears and sighed keeping her eyes cast downwards having lost all the courage she had to face him.

Murmuring the three words, she braced herself for the worst.

A few seconds go by, and nothing happened. Her eyes began to water again, so she bit her lip to keep her sobs quiet.

Carefully Beetlejuice raised a hand and lifted her chin up to meet his gaze.

She looked up at him and blinked back the tears, refusing to cry again.

He stared at her, calculating his next move carefully. He wasn't good with talking about emotions. If anything he would downright avoid it. The ghost sighed.

"I'm really bad at this." He admitted.

Lydia let out a strained laugh and sniffed some more. She nodded in agreement.

He pursed his lips together and looked like he was having a battle within himself. The girl frowned and thought he was trying to think of a way to put her down slowly. Somehow the thought made it hurt all the more.

She pulled away. "It's fine if you don't feel the same Beej."

"No!" He said all too quickly.

Lydia arched a brow at him.

"I mean, don't." He moved his cold dead hand to hold her warmer ones. "Don't pull away. I just –"

"Just…?" Could she dare to hope?

The ghost stared at her again searching for the right words to say.

"You see I – When you… Um… That time…" He stumbled on his words. His hair changed to a much lighter shade of lime green indicating his embarrassment.

She looked even more confused and furrowed her brows together. "Beej I don't understand what you're trying to –"

"Fuck it." He growled and pulled her flushed on himself before crashing his lips on hers.

Lydia squeaked in surprise, but she instantly gathered her bearings and fluttered her eyes close. The feel of his icy lips on hers was phenomenal. It wasn't like any other kiss she had ever experience. His lips moulded onto hers so perfectly it was crazy. Surprisingly enough he didn't taste disgusting – for a dead guy. He had an earthly blend to him, with a bit of something bitter almost like coffee or over cooked caramel, and the tiniest bit of a cigar.

They parted slowly, Lydia breathing a little harder from what had just happened.

"I hope that answers yer question." He spoke.

She nodded slowly before the corners of her mouth twitched up into a smirk. "Actually…" she whispered in his ear with the most sultry voice she could do. "I think you'll need to run that by me again."

All of a sudden Beetlejuice was very aware of their bodies being pressed together. He looked down and found her breasts flushed on his chest and heaving ever so slightly with anticipation.

He sent a heated look her way before claiming her lips once more.

**-END-**

* * *

**A/N:** ***Fans herself* So uh... that happened. I don't normally write these kinds of mature genre's but this was fun! I'm actually working on a another story called "All is Fair in Love and War", it would mean so much to me if you'd check it out on AO3 or comment here if you'd like to post it on FF as well! :) I hope you liked this small one-shot. Please R&R (rate and review) and I shall see you guys soon!**

**Until next time!**


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